Top 5 Quarteracks in the 2025 NFL Draft: Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and SEC passers competing for QB1 crown
The 2025 NFL Draft is less than six months away now. Several NFL teams are already clearly "out of it" this season, so fans know what that means. It's time to look ahead to the future. In many cases that means finding the next franchise quarterback.Our team of NFL Draft contributors at A to Z […]
The 2025 NFL Draft is less than six months away now. Several NFL teams are already clearly "out of it" this season, so fans know what that means. It's time to look ahead to the future. In many cases that means finding the next franchise quarterback.
Our team of NFL Draft contributors at A to Z Sports is already fully engaged in 2025 NFL Draft preparations, so we decided to collectively rank our Top 5 prospects at every position. Eight of our draft analysts ranked our top fives, then tallied the point totals like the AP Poll in college football to create the A to Z Sports Top 5 Positional Rankings series.
Here's where we landed on the incoming 2025 NFL Draft quarterback class. If your favorite NFL team needs a quarterback, you better hope they select one of these top options.
1. Cam Ward, QB Miami
Through the majority of the 2024 college football season Cam Ward has been the best quarterback in the nation. He ranks first in total yards and touchdowns per game. He currently ranks inside the top three in adjusted yards per pass attempt, QBR, and yards per play among all power conference quarterbacks this year too. Ward stays calm under pressure (most of the time), keeps his eyes down field, and quite often makes ridiculous plays like the one in Jordan Reid's post below from his game against Florida.
Ward still tries to do too much every once in a while, getting himself in trouble with a turnover here and there, but that stems from his confidence and belief in his incredible arm. All eight of our draft analysts at A to Z Sports ranked him either first or second in the class, with five first place votes.
2. Shedeur Sanders, QB Colorado
The only quarterback who ranked anywhere near Cam Ward across the board among A to Z Sports NFL Draft analysts was Shedeur Sanders of Colorado. He ranked as high as first, and no lower than fourth among all eight analysts voting.
Shedeur has improved greatly this season overall, in terms of his downfield consistency and percentage of big plays made for much of the year. He still struggles significantly with decision-making when pressured, but his ball placement is absolutely wild at his best (like on this touchdown pass to Will Sheppard below).
Sanders needs to learn to utilize his legs a bit more to avoid pressure and actually get rid of the ball before taking a sack or throwing an interception at times, but he's continuing to trend upwards. Many believe he will be a top five NFL Draft pick at this point, including most of our team here at A to Z Sports. He and Ward both averaged between first and second overall in our rankings, with just a slight edge to Ward.
3. Jalen Milroe, QB Alabama
There was a big tier break following Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders based on the votes among A to Z NFL Draft analysts. Jalen Milroe ranked no higher than third on anyone's ballot thanks to his inconsistent showing this season. Milroe's athletic upside as a true dual threat quarterback is the most tantalizing in the entire 2025 NFL Draft class, but his six interceptions and sack/fumble issues make him a bit perplexing.
He'll mix in some strange misses on his throws with incredibly accurate deep shots immediately thereafter, then use his athleticism to burn entire elite defenses like on this highlight touchdown run against Georgia that you can see below. The ceiling is high with Jalen Milroe.
If Milroe can improve on his consistency down the stretch like he started to do late last season there's still a great chance Milroe is a first round quarterback prospect. Despite some mixed results he's still Top 12 in yards per play, QBR, total adjusted net yards per pass attempt, and total touchdowns per game.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe’s erratic play makes his NFL Draft prospects very confusing
Milroe is becoming a very difficult evaluation
4. Carson Beck, QB Georgia
Carson Beck entered the 2024 college football season as a potential top ten NFL Draft pick if he just simply took a step or two forward following what was already and incredible 2023 campaign. Unfortunately it looks like he's taken a step backwards at times as he's tossed eight interceptions on the year already.
However, he still comes in ranking fourth according to the A to Z Sports entire NFL Draft staff. Beck ranked as high as third and as low as seventh, but that was still good enough to stick inside the top five thanks to the strange mix of quarterback play we've seen across the sport this fall. Beck isn't the only talented quarterback who has struggled with turnovers and lackluster efficiency, but he certainly needs to clean things up in November if he wants to be selected early in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Georgia HC Kirby Smart defends QB Carson Beck amid inconsistent play
Coach Smart is taking the blame.
5. Drew Allar, QB Penn State
Drew Allar has been a pleasant surprise this year in college football. New Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki's scheme has allowed Allar to continue executing well on the easy underneath throws like he was last year while also opening up some strategic deep shots. Allar has the measurable traits and requisite arm talent to be an early pick. He was a five star quarterback for a reason.
Allar ranked as high as third and as low as eighth among A to Z NFL Draft analysts, with many seeming to disagree on his current ability to find consistency every week. Despite a few imperfect showings this season, Allar still ranks top ten in QBR, passer rating, adjusted yards per pass attempt, and yards per play compared to all power conference quarterbacks.
Allar just edged out both Quinn Ewers (of Texas) and Jaxson Dart (of Ole Miss) for the fifth spot in A to Z Sports' top five quarterbacks. If he finishes strong throughout this next month and into the playoffs he may even move higher.
We'll be back with more NFL Draft and College Football coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
